Jacksonville University rallies in cancer fight of lacrosse teammate

Monday

May 2, 2011 at 10:07 PM

Gene Frenette

The first thing that strikes you upon hearing the details of Corey Lovrich's story is the incredible unfairness of it all. What 20-year-old kid, especially a muscular athlete who had committed himself to being in peak physical condition, gets blind-sided by Stage 3 colon cancer?

Doctors don't usually encourage men to even have colon checkups until they're pushing 50. When Lovrich, a co-captain on Jacksonville University's lacrosse team, began having trouble in March with bowel movements for several days, then went into Baptist Medical Center for testing, his family and friends were concerned. But nobody was thinking Lovrich, on April 7, would have a baseball-sized tumor removed and told he had the big double-C.

That prompted his parents, Romano and Jeannette, to fly down the next day from Long Beach, N.Y. That begin what has been a monumental outpouring of support for one of JU's most talented, popular lacrosse players.

"Corey was in the hospital for several days before the surgery, and I was in the middle of class [at Hofstra University graduate school] when I got a text from Dad to call him immediately," said Bryan Lovrich, Corey's 24-year-old brother and only sibling. "I was like, 'What?' We never even jumped to the conclusion that it could be cancer. When we met with the doctor, he looked at us and said it was highly unusual that [colon cancer] happens to someone that young.

"We're hoping it's just six months of chemo and he's recovered. Obviously, he's going to have normal testing going forward, but we're hoping he can go back to his normal life."

The devastating news floored Corey, his family, his 45 teammates and Dolphins' lacrosse coach Matt Kerwick, but the JU community has since rallied to hold two fund-raisers that have raised $9,000 for medical expenses. Corey began the first of 12 chemotherapy treatments over the next six months on Monday at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Rockville Centre, N.Y.

As difficult as going through this ordeal has been, especially not knowing if cancer at this stage will spread to other body parts (so far, it hasn't spread), the consensus from those who know Corey best is that his outlook is upbeat and positive. The initial shock has worn off, and his competitive nature is kicking in.

"[Corey] never said to me, 'Why me?' or any of that, but you could tell he was questioning a lot of what was going on around him at first, as to how this happened," Kerwick said. "When his parents arrived, that was a tough emotional meeting for all of us. After three or four days, he came to grips with it. It's not about being upset and wondering, it's about fighting this thing.

"There's reasons for everything. I know this is something Corey can fight, can deal with, so maybe that's why it happened to him. It's really been an eye-opener for us as a program. It's brought the team together in a lot of ways, shown them what's important. You want to win all the games you can. But this is about a teammate and being a great teammate [to Corey]."

Undoubtedly, if anyone on JU's roster is up to this daunting challenge, it's Lovrich. He recovered from two major injuries in high school, including a torn ACL in his final game as a senior. The Dolphins had planned to redshirt him as a freshman, but he rehabbed so vigorously that he made it back by JU's third game. When he returned last fall in phenomenal shape, Lovrich was voted by teammates one of their captains, even though he's just a sophomore.

"He's just a great leader and hard worker," Kerwick said. "He's battled through some things in high school that most guys hadn't, then this happens. We fully expect him to bounce through this like every other thing that's been a setback for him."

In fact, Lovrich had been sidelined for several games in March by a bad back when symptoms began surfacing.

"He was complaining about his stomach at the time, too, but we thought it was because of all the aspirin and muscle relaxers he was taking [for the back]," Bryan said. "We didn't connect the two."

The 6-foot-1, 200-pound defenseman has lost about 30 pounds in the past six weeks, but Lovrich is not allowing his biggest medical setback to bring him down. It helps when hundreds of people in lacrosse communities in two states are rallying to your cause. Corey's alma mater, Long Beach (N.Y.) High, is also organizing an alumni fund-raiser.

Last week, Lovrich watched JU's home game against Duke on the Internet and was heartened to see so many fans wearing T-shirts in the stands that were sold to help with his medical expenses. Many others are wearing $1 bracelets with his nickname, C-Love, and his number, 88, like the one Kerwick has on his right wrist.

Each time before games, the 5-9 Dolphins now break the huddle with a collective chant of "Eighty-eight!" as inspiration. They're hoping Corey will feel well enough on Friday to make the plane trip to Buffalo, N.Y., to see JU face Siena in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference semifinals. Bryan says his brother wants to be there.

"I talk to him a couple times a week and tell him, 'Get this [chemo treatment] over with and live the rest of your life. It's just one bad moment,' " JU co-captain Jake Ziegler said. "We're all pretty motivated to win for him. Every time we break the huddle before a game, we think of how bad Corey would want to be on the field with us."

Midway through his first chemo treatment Monday, when Corey learned that I was writing a column about his ordeal, he relayed this text message through his brother: "All the support that I've been getting has really allowed me to get through all of this stuff I'm going through now. It's been great to get all of this support both down in Jacksonville and up here in New York. The plan is for me to get past all of this cancer and chemo, so I can start working out again and play with my teammates next year."

Lacrosse has been Lovrich's passion since joining a Police Athletic League team as a 10-year-old boy. He wants nothing more than to have his stick in hand, ready to pick up as many loose ground balls as possible, and help JU become a nationally relevant lacrosse program.

In the meantime, he has a much more important job. Lovrich has to lead by example in a different way. He has to show teammates a different side of what it means to be courageous, by battling a dreaded disease with all the willpower he can muster.

Really, this should be a natural for Corey Lovrich. After all, there's a reason JU voted him as team captain.

gene.frenette@jacksonville.com,

(904) 359-4540

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.

Advertising

Stay Connected

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
The Florida Times-Union ~ 1 Riverside Ave., Jacksonville, FL 32202 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service